Project Final Report for A Grant Awarded Through the Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement #C9994861-99 under the Geomorphic Characteristics Section 319(h) Kentucky Nonpoint Source Implementation of Streams in the Mississippi Grant Workplan “Geomorphic Characteristics of Streams in the Embayment Physiographic Mississippi Embayment Physiographic Region of Region of Kentucky Kentucky” Kentucky Division of Water NPS 99-30 MOA 04103291 July 1, 2001 to December 31, 2005 Arthur C. Parola, Jr. William S. Vesely Anna L. Wood-Curini D. Joseph Hagerty Mark N. French David K. Thaemert of The Stream Institute Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky and Margaret Swisher Jones Kentucky Division of Water Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet Frankfort, Kentucky The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC) and the University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc., (a KRS164A.610 corporation) do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability. The EPPC and the University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc., will provide, on request, reasonable accommodations including auxiliary aids and services necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in all services, programs and activities. To request materials in an alternative format, contact the Kentucky Division of Water, 14 Reilly Road, Frankfort, KY 40601 or call (502) 564-3410 or contact the University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc. Funding for this project was provided in part by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) through the Kentucky Division of Water, Nonpoint Source Section, to the University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc., as authorized by the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1987, §319(h) Nonpoint Source Implementation Grant #C9994861-99. Mention of trade names or com- mercial products, if any, does not constitute endorsement. This document was printed on recycled paper. Acknowledgements ZZ Arthur C. Parola, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Louisville and Director of the Stream Institute (ULSI), was the principal investigator for this study. Mrs. Margi Swisher Jones, Technical Advisor for the Kentucky Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program, Kentucky Division of Water, provided project oversight. Mr. William S. Vesely, ULSI Research Project Engineer, directed the collection and analysis of stream gauging and geomorphic data and contributed to the report writing. Anna Wood-Curini, Ph.D., CEE Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, conducted the data collection at stream gauging stations. Mr. Michael A. Croasdaile, visiting research scientist from the University of Nottingham, collected field data. David K. Thaemert, M.S., ULSI Research Technologist Senior, provided GIS mapping and reviewed the report. D. Joseph Hagerty, Ph.D., Professor of CEE, assisted in field examinations and geologic descriptions and reviewed the report. Mark N. French, Ph.D., Ph.D., Professor of CEE, guided the frequency analysis of gauging stations. Nageshwar R. Bhaskar, Ph.D., Professor of CEE, provided valuable advice regarding regression analysis. Mr. Clayton C. Mastin, Mr. Jeffrey T. Schuchter, Mr. Benjamin M. Jones, Mr. Xiaoqiang Xu, and Mr. Michael A. Thompson, research assistants in the CEE program, helped with data collection and report preparation. Dana S. Kahn Jackman, M.S., Program Coordinator for the Stream Institute, prepared Appendices A and B, finalized Table 2.2, and contributed to report editing. Ms. Chandra Hansen, USLI Research Technical Writer, edited the final report. iii Contents ZZ List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables.............................................................................................................................................. vii Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... ix 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................1 2 STREAMS OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT.........................................................................5 2.1 Summary of Regional Hydrology.................................................................................................6 2.2 Land-Use History and Consequences to Stream Morphology......................................................8 2.3 Location and Potential Effect of Mills and Mill Dams...............................................................12 2.4 Stream Response and Channel Evolution ...................................................................................14 3 MEASUREMENT OF BANKFULL FLOW CHANNEL GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS........................................................................................................................21 3.1 Identification of Bankfull Flow Conditions................................................................................21 3.2 Site Selection for Reach Assessment..........................................................................................23 3.3 Data Collection...........................................................................................................................25 3.4 Data Reduction...........................................................................................................................27 4 BANKFULL GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANNELS ........................................29 4.1 Bankfull Discharge.....................................................................................................................29 4.2 Development of 1.01- and 1.5-Year Return Interval Curves......................................................32 4.3 Bankfull Geometry .....................................................................................................................32 5 MORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL REFERENCE REACHES ..............39 5.1 Data Collection and Reduction ...................................................................................................39 5.2 Assessment of Stream Morphology at Biological Reference Reaches .......................................40 6 APPLICATION OF REGIONAL GEOMORPHIC RELATIONS ...............................................43 6.1 Stream Stability and Basin Sediment Assessment......................................................................43 6.2 Restoration Design......................................................................................................................45 References ...................................................................................................................................................47 Appendices..................................................................................................................................................51 A. Financial and Administrative Closeout.......................................................................................53 B. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Plan..............................................................................57 C. Mississippi Embayment Lithostratigraphic Descriptions ...........................................................61 D. Mississippi Embayment Data .....................................................................................................67 v Figures and Tables ZZ FIGURES Figure 2.1 Physiographic regions of Kentucky (KGS, 1930). ..................................................................5 Figure 2.2 Major stream systems of the Mississippi Embayment (Noger, 1998).....................................6 Figure 2.3 Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic region (Woodrey et al., 1998)...............................7 Figure 2.4 Generalized surface geologic map of the Mississippi Embayment (Noger, 2002)..................8 Figure 2.5 Generalized land-cover map of Mississippi Embayment prior to European settlement...............................................................................................................................10 Figure 2.6 Exposure of a buried wood structure indicating the depth of deposits in the Panther Creek valley, Calloway County.............................................................................................10 Figure 2.7 Eroding bank on the Clarks River near Almo, Calloway County. ........................................11 Figure 2.8 2001 land-use map of Mississippi Embayment (USGS, 2004). ............................................11 Figure 2.9 Estimated stream profile of Mayfield Creek before and after channelization (Calloway, Graves, McCracken, Ballard and Carlisle Counties). .........................................13 Figure 2.10 Mississippi Embayment mills and geomorphic assessment study sites. ...............................13 Figure 2.11 Late stage channel evolution in Obion Creek downstream of Waggoner Bottom Road, Graves County.............................................................................................................15 Figure 2.12 Late-stage channel evolution in Mayfield Creek, Graves County.........................................16 Figure 2.13 Laterally stable straight channelized